Rarely does an author
cover an area of knowledge so comprehensively that there is little more
to say about it. But that is what Thomas Lombardo has done with his two
books about humanity's relationship to the future. The first book
focuses on the psychology of the phenomenon he calls future consciousness
and the history of its development in many cultures, from ancient times
through the 19th century. The second book focuses on the various expressions
of future consciousness in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The Evolution of Future Consciousness

The beginning of this foundational book is devoted to giving the reader
a sense of what Lombardo means by future consciousness. His short
definition is that future consciousness is "the total integrative
set of psychological abilities, processes, and experiences humans use
in understanding and dealing with the future." Among these are

the perceptual awareness of time;

emotional feelings about the future and ingrained attitudes
coming out of them such as hope, fear, despair, goals, purposes, motivations,
etc.;

The remainder of the book is devoted to outlining the evolution and complexification
of future consciousness. Lombardo begins by discussing its origins in
prehistoric times. He then discusses the effect on future consciousness
of the many mythic, religious, and philosophical developments that occurred
in East and West from about 3000 BCE to roughly 1000 AD. He concludes
with a discussion of modernism, the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment,
the theory of secular progress, and important 19th-century theories such
as those of Marx and Darwin.

Contemporary Futurist Thought

In this second book Lombardo builds upon the foundation he laid in the
first. Here, he reviews in detail several 20th and 21st-century movements,
or centers of interest and activity, that focus on the future. The first
is science fiction, which he refers to as "the mythology of the future."
The literary genre that began in the late 19th century with Jules Verne
and H.G. Wells blossomed in the 20th. Lombardo refers to the 1930s and
1940s as the "golden age" of science fiction writing, characterized
by the works of writers such as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Olaf
Stapledon. Lombardo notes that the impact of science fiction on popular
culture increased greatly in the 1980s when science fiction themes were
presented in blockbuster movies like 2001 and popular TV programs
like Star Wars. He feels that "science fiction is the most
influential contemporary form of future thinking in popular culture."

Lombardo then moves to "future studies" which he calls "the
other main contemporary thread of futurist thinking." He describes
it as "an empirical and scientifically based approach to understanding
the future." It has academic roots in a variety of university-associated
institutes, programs, and courses. And it has professional roots in a
multiplicity of think tanks and consulting firms. Lombardo notes that
while science fiction and future studies address the same list of global
issues and challenges, the science fiction emphasis tends to be more on
technological possibilities and mental and spiritual evolution whereas
the futurist focus seem "more earthbound," with greater concern
about "economic, political and organizational issues" and "a
variety of human welfare concerns and priorities."

In the book's third chapter Lombardo discusses the cultural transition
that began in the 20th century from modern to postmodern, industrial to
postindustrial, materials-dominated to information-dominated. He describes
the various tensions involved in this: those who would like to go back
to simpler times, modernists who want to maintain the status quo, and
Cultural Creatives who call for a change "in direction and values
toward a more sustainable society."

I found particularly valuable the book's final chapter headed "Theories
and Paradigms of the Future." Here, Lombardo presents, in detail,
a wide range of contemporary views. Some of these are deterministic; they
argue for a predetermined future of one kind or another. Others argue
for a future determined by human values and conscious decisions. Lombardo
notes that, "A common position held by many members of The World
Future Society is that the future is a set of possibilities rather than
one definite trajectory. Because the future is possibilities, humans have
a choice in what future will be realized. Most futurists in fact talk
as if they believe that the decisions made today will influence what our
future will be like. We are not passive victims of supernatural destiny
or natural laws."

Lombardo closes the book with these words: "I think that the cultivation
of wisdom is an essential ingredient to creating a positive future. Wisdom
integrates intellect, emotion, and action. Wisdom is grounded in an expansive
awareness of the whole that acknowledges and values other people and their
points of view, and involves the recognition of human fallibility and
the need for courage, faith, and tempered optimism in the face of the
uncertainty of the future. Wisdom is the highest expression of human development
and future consciousness. If our minds are evolving and we are moving
toward a New Enlightenment, then I would suggest that the essence of the
New Enlightenment will be the individual and collective development of
wisdom."

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